1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to communication networks. More particularly, the present invention relates to the use of media communication appliances in communication networks.
2. Description of the Related Art
Current media communication appliances are limited due to the close coupling of media communication peripheral interfaces (e.g., speakers, microphones and displays) and the states of such interfaces (e.g., enabled, disabled, on-hook or off-hook). Communication protocols are geared towards knowing the capability of an endpoint, e.g., of a telephone, of media communication peripheral devices associated with a personal computer, etc.
If an endpoint were to receive a communications request but did not have the capability specified in the communications request, the endpoint would refuse that request. For example, if a telephone lacking video capability were to receive a video conferencing call, the telephone would refuse the video conferencing call.
As used herein, a “call” can mean any type of communication session, or a request for such a session. As such, a “call” is not limited to a voice communication, but also includes communications that have video and/or other data components.
Because of the tight coupling of media communication peripheral devices and related communications protocols, it is very difficult for third-party hardware or software to integrate on a media appliance. The media communication peripheral device's behavior is fixed and independent of call context or feature requests.
Moreover, no provision is made for on-the-fly peripheral behavior change, whether based on the call context or otherwise. For example, if a person were to disconnect a media communication peripheral device (or to change the state to “available”) after a communication session had begun, the communication session would be terminated as to that person.
It would be desirable to have greater flexibility regarding the use of media devices, including media communication peripheral devices, for communication sessions.